A U.S. Army veteran with anti-ICE and anti-government views was in custody after lighting fireworks and setting a fire outside a New York City federal building on Monday morning before he was tackled and taken into custody, authorities said.
The suspect, Andrew Arrabaca, 43, arrived at the employee entrance to 26 Federal Plaza around 8:30 a.m. and lit a large firework inside a canister before firing five to seven pellets from an airsoft rifle at the building, authorities said.
He then pulled out a bucket and dumped a liquid that ignited a fire, authorities said. He was subdued by federal agents and police officers moments later.
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“Mr. Arrabaca came armed with bad intentions,” said James Barnacle Jr., the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s New York City Field Office. He noted that the building “has long been a target of extremists, of terrorists. And today the extremism was brought here.”
Barnacle said two individuals were injured, including a federal employee and a civilian, though he described the injuries as “minor” and said both were “treated and released.”
Arrabaca shouted anti-ICE and anti-government statements during his arrest, authorities said. During an interview with investigators, he allegedly said he was targeting the building and that “he was okay if he hurt or killed people going in and out of the building, whether they were federal employees or civilians.”
“Obviously, he is an anti-American, anti-government extremist,” Barnacle said. “We know that from what he said.”
One of the people injured was an immigrant who was at the building for a hearing. Barnacle said, which he described as “ironic, given Arrabaca’s alleged hatred for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
After his arrest, authorities found Arrabaca with two axes, a hammer, a machete and three knives, as well as other “destructive items.”
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At the scene of the incident, authorities found two airsoft rifles and the container with the flammable liquid also affixed to the suspect’s cart was a sign reading “ICE off our Streets,” New York Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.
Tisch said Arrabaca was from the upstate enclave of Poughkeepsie, but that his last known address was in Harlem. A Toyota RAV4 belonging to him was found in that neighborhood and was being held by police pending a search warrant.
Arrabaca served in the Army from 2001 to 2005 as a mechanic on Patriot missile systems, authorities said. No additional details about his military service were disclosed.
No charges have been filed as of Monday afternoon, officials said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. both issued statements about the episode.
“What occurred outside 26 Federal Plaza this morning was deeply disturbing. I’m relieved no one was seriously injured and that a suspect is in custody. My team is in touch with the NYPD and we will support the federal investigation. Our administration will continue to ensure that every New Yorker is safe in their city — and hold accountable any who threaten that,” Mamdani said in a post on X.
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“I am grateful to law enforcement for their swift actions to stop an attack at 26 Federal Plaza this morning, for successfully apprehending the suspect and for keeping the people of New York City safe. Acts of terror and violence have no place in our City and will never be tolerated. The individual responsible for this must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Jeffries said in his statement.
Fox News’ Brendan McDonald contributed to this report
